He tongues the inside of a fang, then grabs his glass of water and takes a long drink.
I turn back to my plate, a happy little smile on my lips.
“This is so good, I didn’t know you could cook, Asher,” Reverie says, breaking the tension between us.
He clears his throat before answering.
“I can’t, but Mr. Merritt has been gracious enough to teach me a few things here and there.”
“Oh, come now, son. None of that, call me Terry,” my dad says. “Or I’ll be starting to feel old.”
“Terry,” Asher says with a nod, his voice soft.
I try to catch his eye, but he looks down at his mostly empty plate, refusing to look at me as he blinks, then takes a bite of toast.
“So, you two, how are things at work?” my mom asks.
That is certainly not something I want to explain to them right now, and thankfully Asher lets me take the lead.
“A bit slower right now, I’ve got one project I’m working on, but not nearly as quick of a timeline as the last one,” I say, sticking to truths that I feel comfortable sharing.
“It’s good to slow down a bit here and there,” Dad says, and we all nod in agreement.
I’m a little tense, thankful Jo isn’t here to call me out on it, when Asher speaks up.
“Raya does have some news to share, though.”
“I do?” I ask, turning bewildered eyes on him.
“You do.” He smiles, then leans in to whisper. “Show them your shifting, little shifter. You’ve gotten so good at it.”
My cheeks warm, and I look down at my lap as I twist my fingers together.
“Well?” Dad asks, “What is it, sweetie?”
40
SECRETS AND SURPRISES
RAYA
“Oh, um,”I bite my lip, glancing at Asher.
He nods in encouragement as his hand squeezes my thigh.
“It’s not that big a deal,” I say, Asher interrupting me with a huff of disagreement.
My mom’s eyes narrow as they flit between us, and my dad leans back in his seat with his arms crossed.
“Well in that case,” Dad says. “Out with it.”
I look at Asher for help, unreasonably nervous to tell my shifter parents that I, a shifter, can successfully shift.
Ridiculous.
Asher raises his eyebrows and I nod at him, my eyes pleading.
“She’s gotten quite good at her shifting,” he says as he turns to my parents.
